Showing posts with label elementary art teacher blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elementary art teacher blog. Show all posts

Thursday, May 3, 2012

In the Artroom: The Art History Wall

A Rockin' Trip Thru Art History with...Mona Lisa's Masterpieces.
This week in the art room, I thought I'd share with you the backdrop seen in many of my What-I-Wore-This-Week posts. Every school year, I create a theme of study. The year I created the Art History Wall, our theme was Rockin' Thru Art History. I wore this wacky apron and the kids created guitars and rocked their way through the history of art.  I loved the wall too much at the end of the year to take it down. With the exception of a random piece of art falling off the wall, it's held up well through the years and, more importantly, it's proved to be a valuable educational tool in the art room.
Every art room should have a mascot.
I am fortunate in that I have a very large art room. Once upon a time, my art room was the school library. So it is very long with plenty of former book shelves turned cabinets and storage.
The Wall in total. Narrowing down the history of art to fit my wall was the hardest part.
That being said, I have this very large wall space which seemed to be the perfect canvas for a giant display. I began by jotting down the major movements in art history. From there, I rooted through my mountains of visuals: old calendars, postcards, posters -- even cutting up the art history books I'd hoarded since college, to find just the right images.
In the Beginning...we had rock art, no paper, no scissors.
With my art movements and visuals sorted, I began the writing of the Art History Wall. This proved to be difficult as I had to keep it simple and kid friendly. To add a little  three dimensional pop to the wall, I clued a piece of foam to the back of the purple papers as well as some of the visuals.
If you are interested in creating your own wall, feel free to borrow from mine as much as you like. The following are the movements and their simple descriptions:
Rock Painting: The beginning of art...
Ancient Egypt: tombs, pyramids, mummies, OH MY!
Ancient Greece: athletic people that believed in many gods...
Ancient Rome: expanded Greek art ideas (after conquering them)
Middle Ages: Bible stories were told through art
Early Renaissance: Artists learned to paint realistically
High Renaissance: Michelangleo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and sculpted David; Leonardo da Vinci sketched inventions and painted the Mona Lisa

Dutch painting: Dutch artists painted portraits, still lives and genre paintings
Romantics and Realists: wanted to show emotion in their art
Impressionists: group of artists that wanted to show color and light
Famous impressionists were Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Cassatt
Post Impressionist: artists that created after the Impressionists and expanded their ideas: van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne
Modern Art: In modern art, artists realized that the possibilities are endless!
The bulletin board beside the art history wall.

What's the point in having a mascot when you don't get to wear a silly costume? I got this idea from one of the most amazing and inspirational art teachers I know, Debi West. You can read more about her and her students here.
And there you have it! We put the wall in action when we are learning about an artist or a certain movement in art. I'll ask the kids to follow me to the Art History wall so they can visually grasp important periods in art. Thanks for reading!
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Friday, February 24, 2012

What the Art Teacher Wore #7

Workin'-on-Prez-Day Monday: sunflower sweater: Anthropologie picked up for cheap at Buffalo Exchange; skirt: Anthropologie; tights:  Target; shoes; Anthropologie. Holy cow! I'm head-to-toe anthro!
Well, hello there! This week's wacky is-it-winter?-is-it-spring? wardrobe is a reflection of the weather. One day it was a summery 78 degrees and the next there was a 30 degree temperature drop and a sky full of spooky clouds. As Lauren put it, "I'm waiting for the sky to turn green or purple or something."

In other news, since we did have school on a holiday, one of my favorite coworkers and I dressed as ole Abe and George for the school-wide morning announcements. We have more fun hamming it up than should be allowed. A word to the wise: Abe hats and bumpits do not mix.

Well, here's hoping the weather where you are is a little less wackadoodle, Yankeedoodle.
George and Abe: This is right before my friend George looked at me and made me lose it to a case of the giggles. On George: shirt: I know you can't see it, but she's wearing one of my wannabe goth shirts from high school; wig: handcrafted by Lauren from fake fur and toilet paper tubes. On Abe: beard and hat: Party City; jacket and shirt: thrifted
You know you're meant to be an art teacher when you look this happy on a Monday! I believe both Lauren's shirt and skirt are thrifted. She created her own bow. She's holding her example for the fourth grade lesson on sculpting heroes and standing in front of her lesson on Kandinsky's circles.
Cowgirl Tuesday: I just realized that annoying neighbor who walks her dog through our yard saw me snapping pictures of myself...and then tripped over her dog. Tee-hee. jacket and belt: thrifted; dress: Target, embroidered by me; tights: Target; boots: Frye, ebay
Well, I know she snagged that sweater at Goodwill...I was with her when we were doing a little pre-Valentine's Day wardrobe shopping. I love her pencil skirt, don't you? Target, people.
Wainy and Wet Wednesday: I've been waiting for a good spring day to wear this jacket and my new rain boots. However, wearing rain boots with no ventilation makes for janky feet syndrome. jacket: Anthro; boots: Hunter, ebay
Under the jacket: sweater and dress: thrifted; bow belt: made by me
Look at this outfit! Love...
Spring Chicken Thursday: I'm proud to say that with the exception of the belt and undergarments (like, ew), this outfit is head-to-toe thrifted! I've never worn this dress before as it's knitted and a little warm. Perfect for spring.
Totally diggin' the burnt orange. I've got to get some in my closet -- she's totally rockin' it with the green and navy.
Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh, Friday!: sweater: thrifted; tiger striped dress: BCBG; lion buckle: gift from a friend; fishnets: Marshall's; shoes: Dolls by Nina
Look at that Kandinsky-esque scarf she scored! I love how it matches the project she did with the third graders...and so did they. And check out those splatter paint shoes she made. Awesomeness.











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